


Tattoo Your Name On My Heart

by Nikka001



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Developing Friendships, Diners, F/M, Film Student Dominick "Sonny" Carisi, First Meetings, Late Night Conversations, Meet-Cute, Single Parent Amanda Rollins, Tattoo Artist Amanda Rollins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 17:07:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29936631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nikka001/pseuds/Nikka001
Summary: AU - Film Student Sonny and Tattoo Artist/Apprentice Amanda
Relationships: Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr./Amanda Rollins
Comments: 3
Kudos: 17





	Tattoo Your Name On My Heart

**Author's Note:**

> This work is a gift for a couple dear friends of mine so I hope you all enjoy. 
> 
> -Annika

* * *

With her tongue between her teeth and her brow furrowed in deep concentration, Amanda pulls her pencil across the pad of paper she has laid out on the table in front of her. She draws line after line until the image in her head finally starts making its way onto the paper. Smiling to herself, proud that she finally got the lines right, Amanda reaches out for the cup of coffee she’s been nursing for the last couple of hours. She brings the cup to her lips and takes a sip; spitting it back into the cup instantly when the cold bitter liquid touches her tongue. She grimaces at the taste and wipes her mouth off using one of the napkins on the table.

“Was the coffee really that bad?

Amanda looks up at the owner of the voice, standing to the side of her booth with his hands shoved inside the pockets of his pants and a teasing smirk on his lips. His eyes are the one thing she really notices about him before she shakes her head a little to bring herself back to the conversation.

Amanda shrugs and looks down at her paper, smiling. “Not at first, no. I was uh, I was working on a project and I guess I sort of just lost track of time.”

“Yeah?” The man with the eyes laughs a small chuckle that has her looking up at him again and following him with her own eyes as he takes a seat in the booth across from her. “What kind of project?

She eyes him up and down, hesitant to tell this stranger anything about her, but there’s just something about him that tells her...she can trust him. She’s not sure why, but she feels like she can. 

“It’s a piece of artwork I’ve been putting together for my boss.” She slides the pad of paper across the table and to his waiting hands. “I’m an apprentice at Hazel Ink Tattoo Shop down the street and my boss said that if I could bring him a piece of work that he thought was good enough to use, then he would maybe let me tattoo it on him. So, I’ve been working on these options all weekend.”

He flips through the pages, admiring each one with a smile before flipping to the next one and giving that one the same amount of care as the last. Amanda watches him closely, intrigued by the man sitting across from her and curious to know why she feels like she can trust him with her deepest, darkest secret. 

“Wow, these are incredible. You did all these?” 

Amanda ducks her head to hide the flush that she can feel heating up her cheeks. “Yeah. Yeah, I did. They are all mine.”

“Oh, I’m Dominick by the way,” he says with a goofy grin on his lips. 

Amanda returns his grin with a smile of her own. “Hi, Dominick. I’m Amanda.”

“Well, Amanda, what would you say to maybe getting in a little practice before you have to face the real thing?”

She squints her eyes and tilts her head to the side. “What are you talking about?”

There’s a new look in his eyes; a mischievous glint that she’s sure wasn’t there before but she brushes it off and files it away for later.

“Tattoo me.”

“I’m sorry. What?” She’s sure that she heard him wrong. He must be insane or something.

He rolls up the left sleeve of his work shirt and stretches his arm out across the table at her, a giddy look on his face. “You have pens, don’t you? So draw something on me.”

Amanda shakes her head. “You can’t be serious. I’m not even...I don’t—”

“Please?”

Amanda sighs and drags her fingers through her unruly waves, letting them fall back onto her shoulders before looking at him through her lashes. He looks...excited. If that’s even the right word for it. He just looks happy really. And who is she to deny such a cute guy his happiness?

“What’s your favorite shape?”

Dominick smiles widely, his eyes lighting up like nothing she’s ever seen before. “A sun.”

Laughing and smiling, Amanda uses the hair tie on her wrist to pull her hair back and secure it into a bun. “A sun? Really?” She reaches into her bag to retrieve the container holding her set of pens and sets them out on the table in front of her. “I’m giving you a free work of art drawn onto your skin and all you want is a sun?”

“Hey, you asked, alright?” Dominick chuckles. 

“That is true. I did ask. Just sit still unless you want some crazy lines.” Amanda nods in agreement and plucks the first pen up from her set while an image slowly starts to come together in her head. She has the perfect idea for what she wants to put on his arm, nothing too crazy but nothing too simple either. Something perfectly in between. 

She removes the cap from the pen and holds his arm in place as she sets about drawing the first few lines of the design she sees in her head. The lines form together, some curved and some straight, but all of them contributing to the bigger picture. The picture for him that sits at the forefront of her mind while she switches pens to start on the thinner of the lines. 

“So, are you in school for this?”

Amanda pauses and looks up at Dominick when he speaks, his gaze laser-focused on the picture being drawn on his skin.

She frowns a little and continues drawing. “Yeah. Well, I was. I studied at NYU for two years before leaving.”

He doesn’t ask why which surprises her the most. Nearly everyone she’s talked to in the last few years just loves for her to explain the reason why she had to drop out. It’s not that she’s ashamed of it really, it just doesn’t seem like it needs to be any of their business. Maybe he can tell it’s something she doesn’t want to talk about. She’s only just met this guy and already she has more respect for him than half the people she’s known for years. It’s a welcome feeling. 

She glances back up at him and smiles when she sees the cute little furrow between his brows. “What about you?”

“Huh? What?” he shakes his head and the furrow is gone.

Amanda snickers. “I was asking if you were in school for anything either but you seemed a little off. You okay?”

Dominick clears his throat and puts on a smile. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m good. I’m okay. I uh, I’m actually a film student at the moment.”

“Really?” Amanda’s ears perk up and she lifts her head to look him in the eyes. “A film student? So I’m guessing you’re planning on being some hotshot director someday then, huh?”

“Yeah. I guess you could say that.”

“Well then, I hope that sometime in the future, I can say I knew him when,” she jokes while returning to her artwork.

She draws a few lines here and a few lines there before she leans back to admire the piece from afar. It’s not as neat and precise as it could’ve been but she’s satisfied with it either way.

It’s probably one of her favorite pieces that she’s done so far. She smiles at the artwork and pops the cap back onto the pen.

“Alright, Sonny my boy, take a look.”

Dominick lifts his arm but pauses and raises a brow at her. “ _ Sonny? _ Really?”

She holds her hands up in defense. “You’re the one that asked for the sun, alright? What do you think,  _ Sonny _ ?”

Sonny laughs, grinning brightly but shaking his head at the newly established nickname. She laughs with him, smiling at the light she was able to bring to his eyes. She’s barely just met this guy and already it’s easier with him than with anybody else. It’s strange but she’s really not complaining. 

His eyes widen when he brings his arm up and is finally able to see the picture drawn onto his forearm. Amanda watches with bated breath, fingers fidgeting with the bent clip on the cap of the pen, while Sonny surveys her work. She sees the way his eyes scan over the ink, his fingers tracing the lines and his lips quirking up at the corners.

“Amanda, this is  _ incredible _ ,” he says finally, his voice barely above a whisper but she can still hear what sounds like awe in his words. It makes her heart do something that it hasn’t done it quite a while and she can feel her cheeks starting to heat up. 

When he looks up and his eyes meet hers, she can’t help but feel like finally, after so many rough years, things are finally starting to fall into place. She might as well take the chance while she’s got it. 

“Can I buy you a beer?”

He’s silent for only a moment before a grin breaks out on his lips and he lets out a huff of laughter. “I thought you’d never ask. 

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you guys thought!
> 
> -Annika


End file.
